2018 NHL Second Round Playoffs Prediction

When the NHL playoffs started, I made my first round predictions. I'm proud to say that I called correctly seven out of the eight teams correctly to move onto the second round, and in three of those match-ups I also called correctly how many games those teams would win. I was perfect in predicting that the Tampa Bay Lightning would defeat the New Jersey Devils in five games, the Boston Bruins would defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games, and the Pittsburgh Penguins would defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. The one prediction I was completely off was thinking the Anaheim Ducks would beat the San Jose Sharks in seven games. Props to San Jose on the four-game sweep.

So with the second round set to begin tonight, here's my predictions on who will advance to the conference finals:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins - Tampa Bay wins in 6
The Boston Bruins proved against the Toronto Maple Leafs that they won't go down without a fight.They fought back constantly in that series to take down the Maple Leafs. But with that said, Tampa Bay is a whole new bear to try to take down. The Lightning are too quick for the Bruins and Boston won't be able to keep up. The Lightning also have too many scorers who can put the puck in the net from anywhere on the ice. So it's my prediction that Tampa Bay wins the series in six games.




Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins - Pittsburgh wins in 7
This series will be extremely competitive. Both teams are good. There's no denying that. This will be a back and forth seesaw affair for sure. But the Capitals have a knack for coming up short on the big stage. And I believe that will happen again. Both sides have good defense, good scorers, and good goaltenders. But the Penguins have the experience it will take to win a game 7 and move onto the conference finals against Tampa Bay.  So it's my prediction that Pittsburgh wins the series in seven games.



WESTERN CONFERENCE
Nashville Predators vs. Winnipeg Jets - Nashville wins in 5
The Jets were impressive in their first round win over the Minnesota Wild. But it's going to take a lot more effort for them to take down the Predators. The Preds have too much strength on defense and too good of scorers on offense. And it helps that their goaltender is pretty good too. The Jets won't have the capability to keep up with the likes of Mike Fisher and the rest of the Preds. So it's my prediction that Nashville will win this series in five games.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks - Vegas wins in 6
The Golden Knights are making history with every playoff win, but it's San Jose that shocked me. I did not see their sweep of the Ducks coming. They won't have it as easy against Vegas. James Neal and the rest of the Golden Knights look determined to re-write our expectations of an expansion team. They are quick, the strike from almost anywhere, and their goaltender is nearly unstoppable. While this round won't be as easy for the Golden Knights either (they swept the Los Angeles Kings in the first round), I believe we will see history once again. So it's my prediction that Vegas wins the series in six games.

I was pretty close to dead on in the first round. Can I be that accurate again with a spot in the conference finals on the line for these teams? Guess we will have to wait and see. Second round of the 2018 NHL Playoffs begin tonight.

MLB Standings Through April 15th

The first month of the season has been pretty exciting around baseball. We've seen Clayton Kershaw show why he's the best pitcher in baseball; last night (April 15th) we saw the ageless Bartolo Colon take a perfect game into the 8th inning; and we've seen some surprise teams come out of the gate on fire. Here are the standings through Jackie Robinson Day.

American League

East

Boston Red Sox          13-2        -GB

Toronto Blue Jays       9-5         3.5 GB

New York Yankees     7-7         5.5 GB

Baltimore Orioles       5-11       8.5 GB

Tampa Bay Rays        3-12        10 GB

Central

Minnesota Twins       7-4         -GB

Cleveland Indians      8-6         .5 GB

Chicago White Sox    4-8        3.5 GB

Detroit Tigers             4-9        4 GB

Kansas City Royals    3-10      5 GB

West

Los Angeles Angels  13-3       -GB

Houston Astros          10-6      3 GB

Seattle Mariners         8-5        3.5 GB

Oakland Athletics      6-10      7 GB

Texas Rangers            6-11      7.5 GB

Wild Card

Toronto Blue Jays       -

Houston Astros           -

Seattle Mariners          .5 GB

Cleveland Indians       1 GB

New York Yankees     2 GB

National League

East

New York Mets          12-2        -GB

Philadelphia Phillies   9-5          3 GB

Atlanta Braves            8-6          4 GB

Washington Nationals 7-9          6 GB

Miami Marlins            4-11        8.5 GB

Central

Pittsburgh Pirates        11-4        -GB

St. Louis Cardinals      9-7          2.5 GB

Chicago Cubs              7-7          3.5 GB

Milwaukee Brewers    8-8          3.5 GB

Cincinnati Reds           2-13        9 GB

West

Arizona Diamondbacks 11-4       -GB

Colorado Rockies          9-8         3 GB

San Diego Padres          7-10       5 GB

San Francisco Giants     6-9        5 GB

Los Angeles Dodgers    5-9         5.5 GB

Wild Card

Philadelphia Phillies          +1

Atlanta Braves                    -GB

St. Louis Cardinals             -GB

Colorado Rockies               .5 GB

Milwaukee Brewers           1 GB

Chicago Cubs                     1 GB

2018 NHL Playoffs Are Set

The NHL playoffs are set. The playoffs will be one that no one needs to miss. Now I have to admit that the playoffs lost some luster in my eyes, after the massive collapse of my Dallas Stars
. But despite the Stars downfall (get better soon Ben Bishop), the playoffs are still going to be a lot of fun to watch. All 16 teams are fairly equal to some degree, which means that the 8th seeds could upset the 1st seeds. Now will it happen? I don't think so. But it's possible. Here's my NHL predictions:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (8) New Jersey Devils
This one I think will end quickly. Now I don't think it'll be a sweep. New Jersey have some good scorers and they are solid in net, but the Lightning are too stacked to have their season end in the first round.

PREDICTION: Tampa Bay wins in 5 games






(2) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Toronto Maple Leafs
Austin Matthews is going to be fun to watch in this series. The Bruins will struggle to contain this young superstar. Rusk has been dealing with injuries. If Matthews and the Maple Leafs can take advantage of Rusk, then Toronto will have a chance to knock off the 2-seed. But Rusk seems to always rise to the occasion in the playoffs, which is why I think it'll be a rough series but one Boston can win.

PREDICTION: Boston wins in 7 games



(3) Washington Capitals vs. (6) Columbus Blue Jackets
This one is probably going to be the one series that will be completely one sided. The Capitals, with Alexander Ovechkin leading the way, will help the Capitals end this series early.

PREDICTION: Washington wins in 4 games







(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers have flown under the radar this season (like what I did there. lol), but they won't catch their in-state rivals off guard. The Penguins, behind Sidney Crosby, will ultimately knock off Philadelphia. Not saying that it'll be easy. Philadelphia will have a strong fan base behind them at home, but the Penguins will advance to the 2nd round.

PREDICTION: Pittsburgh wins in 6 games




WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1)Nashville Predators vs. (8) Colorado Avalanche
The Avs barely made it into the playoffs, especially after their goalie went down. Not sure they can handle the Preds for a long period of time. They might get a win at home, but they won't do much more than that.

PREDICTION: Nashville wins in 5 games




(2) Winnipeg Jets vs. (7) Minnesota Wild
The Jets surprised me this season at just how good they are. I didn't think they'd be in the playoffs at all let alone be the 2-seed. They will be a force in these playoffs. Minnesota will have some highlight moments in this series, but the Wild won't be able to do it for long. 

PREDICTION: Winnipeg wins in 6 games



(3) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings
No one thought an expansion team could do what Vegas did this year. They are good...very good. Led by James Neal and Marc-Andre Fleury, the Golden Knights will have the desert of Las Vegas flocking to the ice for hockey.

PREDICTION: Vegas wins in 6 games





(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) San Jose Sharks
This will be a series that, unless you live in one of these two cities and are fans of one of these two teams, will be a snooze-fess. Neither the Ducks nor the Sharks have anyone worth watching on either team. But with that said, the Ducks seem to always find a way to advance in the playoffs...at least out of the first round.

PREDICTION: Anaheim wins in 7 games

So there ya go. Those are my predictions for the first round of the NHL Playoffs. I will predict the rest of the playoffs after the each round is over. What do y'all think? Give me your predictions.